


Parades

by troublesome_tome



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aromantic Peridot (Steven Universe), Asexual Peridot (Steven Universe), Gen, Pride, Pride Parades, bad clothing choices, lion is there, my fucking god these bitches gay! good for them, platonic ass slapping, the gang's all here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23151376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/troublesome_tome/pseuds/troublesome_tome
Summary: Steven takes Peridot to a pride parade.
Relationships: Bismuth/Pearl implied, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe implied, Ruby/Sapphire (mentioned)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 63





	Parades

**Author's Note:**

> hi i'm mad over people being mean about aro/ace peridot being canon so here this is!   
> also just so everything's clear, here's my headcanon list:  
> \- steven: bi  
> \- connie: bi/ace  
> \- peridot: aro/ace  
> \- bismuth: lesbian/ace  
> \- pearl: lesbian  
> \- amethyst: pan/ace  
> \- sapphire: lesbian  
> \- ruby: lesbian  
> \- lapis: aro/ace

Steven was in his room, busy getting ready for his afternoon plans. It was a bright, sunny day in June, historically known as the gayest month of them all. The other Crystal Gems had gone out already; they were all going out to the pride parade today. He had made plans with Connie to attend the festival later, and was picking out a sensible outfit for the weather now.

Shorts, sandals, and a loose t-shirt; a typical summer outfit, fit for pretty much anywhere (if they allowed sandals, which should be required by law.) The final touch, adding some flair to his outfit, was a flag, of course! He pinned his flag around his neck, letting the stunning blue, purple, and pink stripes drape over him. It was perfect!

He was just about to head out so he could meet Connie, when there was a knock on the door… Opening it, he found none other than Peridot.

“Steven! Do you happen to kn- What are you wearing?” Whatever thought she had was cancelled as soon as she noticed Steven’s cape. 

“Hi, Peridot. It’s the bi flag. I’m going to the pride parade out of town today."

Peridot was visibly confused. “The… ‘bye’ flag? You have… a flag for saying ‘goodbye…?’”

Steven laughed. “No, no, not ‘bye.’ ‘Bi,’ ‘B-I.’ Like, bisexual. I kinda need to get going, Connie’s waiting… You can come too, if you want.”

“Okay.” Peridot let Steven out, and then followed behind him. “So, what’s this ‘pride parade?’” 

“Oh, uhh… It’s like a normal parade, but for people who are LGBT. Lots of pride flags and rainbow stuff.”

“El Gee Bee Tee?”

“Yeah, LGBT. It’s an acronym. ‘Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender.’” He counted them out on his fingers. “There’s a few more, like queer, asexual, pansexual, and nonbinary, but LGBT is the shortest acronym.”

Peridot knew what some of those meant. “’Lesbian’ is like… Ruby and Sapphire, right? I see people on the Tumblr say that Paulette is a lesbian a lot, but she’s canonically not! She’s romantically interested in—”

“Sometimes people have headcanons like that, I guess. And yeah, Ruby and Sapphire are lesbians,” Steven said. “Pearl is too. I’m bi, cuz I pretty much just like everyone.”

“Hmm…” Peridot was muttering things to herself. “I’ve never thought about this kind of stuff before. How do you know what you are so well?”

Steven paused for a bit. “I dunno, I just sorta… did. I’ve had crushes on girls and on guys before. Then Connie was explaining some stuff to me, and I knew it was right. I’ve always been pretty sure of myself,” he said nervously. That last bit was a lie.

“Well, I’ve never felt like that for anyone! How am I supposed to know what I am?” Peridot was frustrated. “You, Bismuth, Pearl, Garnet, you all talk about fusion and love and being ‘in love’ so easily!”

Steven was silent, just listening to her rant.

“Sure, I love shipping, but that’s not me! I like the analysis! I like thinking about matchups! I’ve never thought about being in a ‘relationship’ myself! Not even with Lapis or with Bismuth! I don’t think I’ll ever fuse, either. I just don’t want to! But everyone else can…” Peridot was somber. “Sometimes I feel like I’m… broken. Like being an Era 2 gem removed my capacity to love.”

Steven put a hand on her back. “Peridot, it’s fine. You’re not broken. Some humans don’t want relationships like that either, and it’s okay! They’re just aromantic.”

“A… romantic? Wouldn’t someone who’s ‘a romantic’ be someone who always falls in love…?”

“No! It’s not like, ‘a romantic,’ it’s just one word. Aromantic. Someone who doesn’t feel romantic love,” Steven explained. “Romantic love isn’t the only type of love, either. You love your friends, right?”

Peridot was caught off-guard. “Well, yeah, but… It’s really normal to never fall in love?”

Steven nodded. “It’s okay to never be in love. Garnet’s aromantic, too. She’s happy just being herself, with her friends!”

Peridot stopped walking, then smiled. She smiled a big, wide smile, and then hugged Steven tight. 

“Thank you, Steven! This whole time, I thought I was just weird!” She had a bright idea, and let go of him. “Can you show me what the flag for that one is? Does it have one?”

“Yeah, here it is!” He pulled a picture up on his phone, showing her the flag in all its glory. “It’s green, just like you! I could get you one at the festival today.”

“Absolutely. This is not a request; it is a demand.” 

They continued to chatter along the way until they reached the designated meeting spot where Connie was waiting for them, with Lion sleeping right by her.

“Hi, Steven! And Peridot?” Connie called out. She was wearing bracelets in her colors; one of them matched Steven’s flag, and the other was a gray gradient with a purple stripe at the end.

“Yeah, she decided to come along too. The other gems are there, so…”

Peridot interrupted him. “Connie, Connie, Connie! Today I found out I’m aromantic!” She was absolutely giddy.

“That’s great, Peridot!” Connie raised her hand for a high-five, which Peridot reciprocated once she remembered how high-fives went. “So, are we all ready to head out?”

The two nodded, and the three set out with Lion to the festival.

The festival was much louder than Peridot expected, that was sure. She had never been able to go to these sorts of parties on Homeworld, and wasn’t exactly a fan of them on Earth either. The sun was shining, the music was blaring, and everyone was decked out in rainbow gear and assorted different flag colors. A few people even had the aromantic flag! 

“Pearl said to meet by the fountain… but there’s so many fountains in this park!” Steven stomped his foot on the ground in frustration. “Empire City’s so confusing!”

“Did she maybe mean the central fountain?” Connie chimed in.

“Probably, but where is that?”

Peridot was distracted by the sight of a huge, gray lady with a gem on her chest and shiny rainbow hair. “Steven! I see Bismuth!”

“Huh? Oh! That’s the central fountain!”

The three ran over to meet their friends, all exclaiming and hugging and all that. The fountain sprayed them, but they didn’t mind at all.

“Steven, Connie! You guys brought Peridot with you, too!?” Bismuth was happily surprised! “Nice t’see you came along!”

“Mhm! I went to Steven’s house to see where you and Lapis had gone, and I decided to join him!” Peridot shoved her visor back up to its proper position, looking like a nerd in the process. “Did you know I’m aromantic?”

Bismuth laughed heartily. “No, I didn’t! Glad to know you figured it out.” She turned around, calling out to the others. “Hey Pearl, Garnet! The shorty gang’s here!”

“I thought we were the Shorty Squad?” Peridot asked to no one in particular.

“That’s me, you, and Amethyst. The shorty gang includes Connie.”

Pearl came over, holding a few pieces of paper with numbers written on them. Garnet didn’t follow… but Ruby and Sapphire did. All three of them were wearing the same pink and orange gradient, just as different articles of clothing. 

“I’m so glad you all could make it!” Pearl exclaimed, proudly brandishing a jacket with lesbian flag patches plastered all over it. “A lot of cute people have been giving me their numbers, haha…” 

Bismuth grabbed Pearl’s hand, holding it gently. “It’s because you’re pretty cute too, Pearl!” Both of the gems started to laugh, until their handholding was separated by a short, purple gremlin.

“Yo, there’s kids here, keep it PG-13!” Amethyst said, smacking their hands apart. She burst into laughter when they both stared her down, clearly missing the joke. “C’mon, I’m just playin’! Heyyy, the other shorties finally showed up! You guys even got Peridot into this!”

Peridot told her story again, and Amethyst platonically slapped her ass in celebration, which startled Peridot quite a bit!

“Lapis should be here somewhere, but I’m not sure where she wandered off to,” Bismuth explained. “She said she’d be back in a bit and then just flew away!” 

“Did she maybe go for drinks?” Pearl asked.

“Naw, she doesn’t drink. Or eat,” Bismuth chuckled. “Sapphire, do you know where she went?”

“Hmm…” Sapphire thought out loud. “Look to your left.”

Bismuth did as Sapphire said, and saw Lapis Lazuli, decked out in a rainbow crop top, neon pink shorts, and mismatched socks – both had a gray gradient, but one had a purple stripe like Connie’s bracelet, and the other was clearly the aromantic flag – and her normal sandals. “Hey. I’m back.”

Everyone just stared in shock at her… interesting choice of clothing. It was ridiculous. But she was clearly enjoying it.

Peridot made her usual explanation to Lapis, and Lapis was clearly pretty happy about it. They could be “aro ace” buddies! Together, everyone chatted and wandered around the park together, dancing along to the music and generally being pretty wild. Even though it was loud, Peridot loved it there. Knowing she wasn’t broken or wrong, she was just different, made her feel okay again. 

As the sun started to set and sink below the buildings, people started to clear out of the area. It was getting a bit late, and the more risqué parts would happen around this time. 

Everyone had picked up something to keep as a reminder of today; Steven and Connie got matching glow bracelets, Pearl and Bismuth got shirts with cute designs on them, Lapis had already bought her outfit, Ruby and Sapphire picked up some silly sunglasses (which didn’t fit Sapphire very well at all, but they were cute), Amethyst bought a flag to strut around with, and Peridot had gotten a flag too. She wasn’t very tall, but waved it around like she was tall enough everyone could see it.

Today was a day of celebration and pride, and Peridot was glad she had gone to see Steven that afternoon.


End file.
